Rich Boy, Poor Boy
by cakegirl
Summary: Draco-Ron SLASH! --Chapter 22 up-- Rated R for future content. Post-OotP. It's 6th year and Draco and Ron have to work together but they hate each other. How will they get along? Remember to R&R!
1. Thrown Together

1. Thrown Together  
  
-Ron-  
  
It was the beginning of sixth year and Ron was back at Hogwarts. He'd had a good trip on the Hogwarts Express with Harry and Hermione. Well, mostly. But over the summer Harry and Hermione had started going out and sometimes Ron felt a little left out when they were too mushy with each other.  
  
Right now, Ron was at a prefect's meeting, so at least here he didn't have to see Harry and Hermione pawing at each other. No, but he did have to see Hermione doodling little hearts on her notebook while she waited for the meeting to be over. She wasn't even paying attention, which was definitely not her usual behaviour.  
  
Love, he thought disgustedly. Who needs it.  
  
Philip Kent, the new head boy, was droning on about how this was going to be the best year ever. "All prefects will patrol in pairs. I'll read off the schedule."  
  
Blah, blah, blah, Ron thought. He wondered when Quidditch practices would start.   
  
"...Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings -- Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy."  
  
"WHAT?" Ron yelled. He turned beet red when everybody stared at him.   
  
Philip just glared at Ron for disturbing the meeting and went back to reading his list. Ron muttered "Like hell" under his breath. Hermione shot him a warning look.  
  
Ron scowled. He always had bad luck but this was the worst! To get paired up with that Slytherin snake. He'd rather scrub toilets with Dobby.  
  
Ron glanced over at Draco, who was looking just as disgusted as Ron felt. Ron sighed. This was going to be a long year.  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco had been shocked when he'd heard his name read out with Ron's at the meeting. Surely nobody expected him to patrol with a *Gryffindor*, especially not with Ron Weasley.  
  
Draco hadn't thought anything could make this year worse but all of a sudden he had this to deal with. Not to mention having to patrol on Saturday nights, when all the rest of the 6th years would be going out to Hogsmeade on dates.  
  
He felt like smashing something but he didn't want to get into any trouble with Filch. Draco walked back to the dorms and went into the common room. Crabbe and Goyle were there playing checkers but Draco didn't go over to them. In fact, he was avoiding everybody.  
  
Draco had a painful secret and he was afraid someone would find out. So he just went up and went to sleep.  
  
The next day, in Potions class, he dropped some frog's tongue into Neville Longbottom's cauldron and made the whole potion boil over. It made Draco feel a little better to hear Snape yelling at Neville.  
  
The Gryffindors all glared at Draco, but he knew they wouldn't do anything about it.  
  
At dinner, Crabbe and Goyle sat down next to him. "Why are you avoiding us," Crabbe said. Goyle grunted in agreement.  
  
"Because you're a couple of slimy gits," Draco said.  
  
But this didn't get rid of them because that was how he always talked to them. Draco gave up and just ate his dinner.  
  
Afterwards, he had to go and do his prefect patrol. With Weasley. Draco sighed. Then he went to the hall where they were supposed to meet. The redhead was there already, with a scowl on his freckled face.  
  
"What did I do to deserve this," Ron moaned.  
  
"Hey, I'm not thrilled either, Weasel," Draco said. "Babysitting a Gryffindor isn't my idea of a good time."  
  
Ron turned bright red. "Shut up, Ferret."  
  
Draco laughed. It was so easy to make Ron mad. Maybe this would be fun after all. 


	2. Patrol

A/N: There will be slash in a few more chapters. Just wait for it!  
  
2. Patrol  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco allowed himself a small smile at the situation. "Couldn't wait to see me, huh?"  
  
The redhead shot Draco a look of pure digust. "I just want to get this over with, Ferret."  
  
"Sure, play it coy," Draco said with a grin. "We're supposed to patrol for two hours."  
  
"Two hours?" Ron shrieked.  
  
"Three times a week," Draco added. "For the rest of the year."  
  
Ron looked so dejected at this news that Draco almost felt hurt! But he reminded himself that the only way he would get through this was if he could tease Ron.  
  
They started out down the hallway. The students were still hyper from being back at school and they had to chase lots of them back to their common rooms. Then they caught two Gryffindor third years trying to sneak down to the kitchens.  
  
"You're not supposed to do that," Ron said.  
  
"But you do it all the time!" said one of the third years, a boy called Nigel Bloggs.  
  
"That's different," said the Weasley boy, but he got kind of flustered and red. "Just don't do it any more."  
  
"Yeah, and 20 points from Gryffindor," Draco added.  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron couldn't believe his ears! That slimy Slytherin ferret was just out to get Gryffindor.  
  
"You can't do that," Ron said and gave Draco a harsh look.  
  
"Sure I can," said Draco with a shit-eating grin.  
  
"Then I can too!" Ron was furious. "30 points from Slytherin!"  
  
The blonde just laughed. "That won't work unless you catch someone breaking the rules. Weren't you listening to old Kent?"  
  
"Fine. 20 points *to* Gryffindor."  
  
"That won't work either! You're so bloody stupid, Weasley."  
  
The two third years snuck away while Draco and Ron were yelling at each other. Neither of them noticed.  
  
Ron got really, really angry. He just wanted to get the Malfoy boy. So he grabbed the front of Draco's robe and threw him down on the floor. There was a tearing sound.  
  
"Fuck!" said Draco. "You ripped my robes, you asshole."   
  
"So what," Ron said. "You can buy 20 more robes, I'm sure."  
  
The Slytherin turned white. He jumped to his feet and ran off down the hall.  
  
Ron was really puzzled. That seemed really unusual for Draco. He usually had a comeback everytime. And he never ran away.  
  
Ron didn't know what to think. 


	3. Confused

3. Confused  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron had to finish the patrol by himself. He didn't really pay close attention and so the students got away with quite a lot. Then he went back to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
Harry and Hermione were sitting on a couch in front of the fire. They were making out. When Ron gave a loud cough, they sprang apart.  
  
"Oh, hey, Ron," Harry said in a flustered way. His face was red.  
  
Hermione looked like she wished Ron had just left them alone, but she didn't say anything about it. So Ron sat down too.  
  
"How was your date with Malfoy?" Harry said. Ron smacked Harry on the arm. "Ow!"  
  
"Yeah, Ron," Hermione said. "Did you catch many rulebreakers?"  
  
Trust Hermione to think about the rules, Ron thought. "No, because Malfoy took off!"  
  
Hermione looked shocked. "He abandoned his prefect duties?"  
  
"That's exactly what he did. He was being a prick and we had a little disagreement and I accidently tore his robes and he ran off."  
  
"You tore his robes? Sounds like a date to me," Harry said. This time it was Hermione that smacked Harry.  
  
"It was weird," Ron said. "He looked really upset."  
  
"Who cares, it's just Malfoy," Harry said. Then he started to tickle Hermione and she started giggling and tickling him back.  
  
Ron was kind of put off by that so he went up to bed.  
  
-Draco-  
  
In the morning, Draco tried to fix his ripped robes. He didn't know any sewing spells so he got an old Wimbourne Wasps Quidditch badge and pinned it on to hold the tear together. He hoped no one would ask him about the rips.  
  
Draco went through his whole day in a silent bad mood. Whenever anyone except a teacher would talk to him, he would just look away. Pretty soon, everybody was avoiding him, even Crabbe and Goyle. That suited Draco just fine.  
  
He was afraid to talk to anyone or they might discover what he didn't want them to know. As long as they left him alone, his secret was safe.  
  
It was kind of lonely, but Draco knew he just had to tough it out. He was a Malfoy!  
  
Last class of the day was Care of Magical Creatures with the Gryffindors. Hagrid was showing the class some Grigs. They were tiny sprites with cricket bodies. They could jump really far and one jumped onto Seamus Finnegan's head and pulled his hair and wouldn't let go.  
  
Draco was standing at the back of the group by himself, not really paying attention. Then he noticed that Ron was looking at him instead of at the Grigs. Ron had a kind of funny expression, like he was thinking about something.  
  
"What do you want, Weasel?" Draco sneered, trying to drive Ron away.  
  
The Gryffindor blinked, like he was surprised. "Nothing," he said and he turned around and stopped looking at Draco.  
  
Draco was surprised too! He had expected an argument with Ron at the very least.  
  
Now he wondered why Ron had been looking at him. 


	4. Draco's Secret

A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far! They really made my day! I'll try to get the next chapters up soon.  
  
~  
  
4. Draco's Secret  
  
-Draco-  
  
So far, Draco's tactic of not talking to anyone was working. People were ignoring him so he didn't have to talk to them. So he was glad, but also depressed at the same time. He missed having Crabbe and Goyle to order around.  
  
Plus he couldn't make his usual remarks about the Gryffindors. He kept thinking of good insults and then not being able to say them. It was very frustrating.  
  
Now it was Thursday night and he had to go on patrol with Ron again. Ron had been the only one who had paid any attention to Draco over the last two days. Draco had tried to get Ron to stop, but it was hard. If he got Ron too mad, then Ron would try to fight him again and then everybody would stare.  
  
All this secrecy and stuff gave Draco a headache. So he was even more cranky than usual when he went to meet the Weasley boy for patrol.  
  
"Hey, Malfoy," Ron said in a normal voice when he saw Draco. Draco was surprised. Usually Ron would have said an insult to him.  
  
"Hey, Weasley," Draco said in the same tone. They started their patrol. Less students were in the hallways that night and they mostly just walked along.  
  
Then Ron stopped walking. "Um, Malfoy, I was wondering...why are you still wearing ripped robes?"  
  
Draco started to get mad. This was all Ron's fault. "Because I don't know how to fix them! I never learned any household charms, OK? Satisfied?"  
  
Ron looked shocked at Draco's outburst. "But why don't you just buy some other robes?"  
  
Draco started to feel sick inside. There was no way to keep Ron from finding out now. But he didn't answer.  
  
"Rich Malfoy in ripped robes, it doesn't make any sense," Ron said.  
  
Draco just snapped. He was so mad at Ron he didn't care what he said. He grabbed the redhead and slammed him up against the wall. Ron was a lot bigger than Draco, but Draco had the element of surprise. "That's because I'm not *Rich* Malfoy anymore, OK? After *someone* had my father sent to Azkaban, we lost all our money. I'm just as poor as you now. I hope you're happy."  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron stared at Draco with a feeling of shock. This was the last thing he expected to hear from the blonde. He'd spent the last couple of days trying to work out what was different about Draco, but he had never thought of this.  
  
Draco was holding Ron against the wall, with his hands pressing into Ron's shoulders. Ron could see that Draco was very upset -- angry but sad too. "I hope you're happy," Draco had said to him. Ron was surprised at how he felt. He always thought something like this would make him happy but he actually felt sorry for Draco. Maybe because he knew what it was like to be so poor. Or maybe because he could finally see that Draco was human after all.  
  
"I'm sorry," was all Ron said. Then Draco let go of Ron and sat down on the floor, with his hands over his face. Ron hoped that Draco wasn't crying because he had NO idea what to do about that.  
  
"Now everyone is going to know," Draco said in a muffled voice. "I'll have to leave the school." His shoulders were shaking a little.  
  
Before Ron knew what he was doing, he had sat down next to Draco and put his arm around Draco's shoulders. The Slytherin was thin and Ron could feel the sharp bones of his shoulderblades poking into his arm. "It's OK, I won't tell," Ron said.  
  
Draco looked at Ron. There were tears in his eyes and his face was blotchy and red. "Why not? I thought you hated me."  
  
Ron thought about it. He still didn't like Draco much, but somehow seeing him like this made him want to help Draco if he could. "I don't know. But I won't tell."  
  
After a minute, Draco wiped his eyes on his sleeve. They both stood up and finished their patrol. When they got to the end, Ron had an idea. "Wait," he said to Draco. He took out his wand and pointed it at Draco. "Emendo!" he said. The tear in Draco's robes sewed itself up so you could hardly even see the seam.  
  
"Thanks," said Draco and he smiled at Ron. 


	5. Ron's Dream

5. Ron's Dream  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron went back to the common room. Harry and Hermione were there but they weren't snogging for a change, they were just doing their Charms homework for the next day. Ron sat down next to them.  
  
"Hi Ron," Hermione said. "How was patrol?"  
  
"OK," said Ron in a distant way. He was kind of freaked out by what had happened. Not only had he found out a big secret about Malfoy, but he had promised not to tell. And he'd even been nice to the Slytherin.  
  
"Did Malfoy run away again?" Harry said.  
  
"No." Ron didn't feel like talking about Draco until he had everything figured out in his head. "Who are you patrolling with, Hermione?"  
  
"Hannah Abbott," Hermione said. "She's OK, although I don't think she has all of the rules memorized yet. I'm going to quiz her on those tomorrow."  
  
Ron and Harry exchanged looks at this. Some things would never change!  
  
"There's Quidditch practice tomorrow after classes," Harry said. He was Quidditch captain this year. "We have such a great team this year that nobody will even come close to beating us!"  
  
"I'll be there," Ron said. Then he went up to bed. But he didn't go to sleep. Instead he lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling and tried to work out what had happened with him and Draco. He hadn't just left Draco alone, he'd actually helped the blonde. Even put his arm around him.  
  
For some reason, he was thinking about that now -- the warm feel of Draco's thin back. And Draco's hands on his shoulders, pinning him to the wall. This is crazy, Ron thought. I should just forget about Malfoy. If we get along well enough to patrol, then that's good, but we're not friends and so I shouldn't be thinking about him.  
  
Ron thought about Quidditch then instead. He'd been practicing all summer long and he knew he'd be a great Keeper this year. Eventually, he fell asleep.  
  
Ron had a dream that he was flying on the Quidditch pitch. He was chasing someone else but it was dark and he couldn't see who it was. He flew faster and faster until finally his broom was right alongside the other broom. But he still couldn't see who it was.  
  
"Close your eyes," a voice said, so Ron did. Then someone kissed Ron. Ron reached out and put his arms around the person. He opened his mouth and a tongue slid inside, licking his teeth and the sides of his cheeks. Ron was so turned on. He moaned into the kiss and started rubbing his hands up and down the person's back. Hands found their way under Ron's robes, stroking his bare chest. Their tongues swirled together and Ron was electrified. He thought he was going to burst.  
  
Then the other person pulled back out of the kiss. Ron opened his eyes and looked over. It was Draco. "Weasley is our king," the Slytherin said and pushed Ron off his broom.  
  
Ron fell and fell. Just before he hit the ground, he woke up. It was 3 AM. He was sweating. And he'd just had a dream about kissing Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Oh shit," said Ron. 


	6. A Strange Morning

A/N: I love all my reviewers! You are the best!  
  
~  
  
6. A Strange Morning  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron lay awake for an hour after the dream. His heart was beating fast and it wouldn't slow down for a long time. Falling like that in the dream had scared him. But dreaming about kissing Draco scared him even more!  
  
First of all, Ron wasn't gay. At least he didn't think so. He was sure he would have noticed that by now.  
  
And even if he *was* gay, which he was not, the last person he would want to kiss would be Draco Malfoy, his worst enemy. If he was gay, he'd go out with someone nicer, like Seamus or Justin Finch-Fletchley. Or maybe Neville.  
  
But since he wasn't gay why was he even thinking about who he'd go out with? Probably the dream meant something else completely different.  
  
Ron tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn't stop thinking about the dream. So he got up and went down to the common room. He got out his Divination dreams book and started looking things up. But it was all a muddle, probably because he was still very sleepy.  
  
Eventually, Ron fell asleep on one of the couches. He woke up in the morning when Hermione shook his shoulder. "Ron, why are you down here?" she said.  
  
"I had a weird dream and I was trying to figure out what it meant." Ron pulled the book out from underneath him.  
  
"Oh, Ron, that stuff is claptrap," Hermione said.  
  
He wanted to get some advice about his dream, but he couldn't just tell her about Draco. "Uh...Hermione, what do you think it means, then, if you dream that you're kissing somebody?"  
  
Hermione laughed. "It probably just means that you want to kiss her." She poked Ron in the ribs. "Who is she, Ron?"  
  
"Nobody," Ron said in an annoyed way. No matter what Hermione said, he did *not* want to kiss Malfoy. Or even Neville.  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco went for a walk before breakfast to try to think over some things. His plan of brushing off all the Slytherins was working really well. Which was why he was alone. Crabbe and Goyle had attached themselves to Blaise Zabini. Draco figured they could have waited at least a week first.  
  
But he was worried now that Ron knew his secret. Ron had said that he wouldn't tell, but Draco was afraid that Ron would tell anyhow. After all, Ron was his enemy, right?  
  
But Ron didn't really seem like an enemy last night. In fact, he'd been really nice to Draco. He was the only person so far that year who had been. Draco figured he'd just have to wait and see.  
  
But why was Ron nice to him anyway? That was the most mysterious part. Even after Draco had treated Ron roughly, Ron had helped him.  
  
At breakfast, Draco sat at the end of the table by himself. He looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw that Ron was also sitting at the end of the table. And he was looking over at Draco. But as soon as Draco looked, Ron stared down at his oatmeal.   
  
Draco frowned. This was just getting weirder and weirder.  
  
Then he forgot about Ron because his owl came in with a parcel for him. Maybe it was from his mother. She always sent treats to him at school. He opened it up and inside was a copy of a textbook that he hadn't been able to buy. But it was all banged up and scribbled on. He closed the parcel as quick as he could.  
  
There was a note from his mother.  
  
Darling Draco,  
  
I finally found a second-hand copy of your textbook. I'm sorry that I couldn't send any treats along. Maybe next month. Study hard and make me proud.  
  
Love, Mother  
  
A second-hand book! How was he going to keep people from seeing that? Draco snatched up the parcel and hurried out of the hall. He was going so fast that he bashed right into someone.  
  
"Watch it," he snarled.  
  
"Watch it yourself," a familiar voice replied.  
  
It was Ron. 


	7. Not Quite A Fight

Thanks to all reviewers, especially OnthaEdge487 and BabyJJ! You inspire me to write more!  
  
~*~  
  
7. Not Quite A Fight  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco glared at Ron. First Ron behaved all strangely and then he stood right in Draco's way. "Are you following me or something?" Draco said.  
  
Ron's eyes opened wide. "No!" he said in a forceful tone. "Why would I be following you?"  
  
"Well, you're acting all strange. And you slammed into me," the blonde said.  
  
"I didn't slam into you! You were the one who was running. I was just walking out at a normal pace." Ron looked like he was getting kind of mad.  
  
"Sure, Weasel. Then you stopped right in front of me." Draco thought it might make him feel better to blow off some steam.  
  
"What would I do that for?"  
  
"You tell me," Draco said.  
  
The Gryffindor didn't answer but Draco noticed that he was clenching his fists. A bunch of people had stopped to watch them snarling at each other. Draco supposed they were hoping for a fight. He hoped that Ron wouldn't fight, though. He was lots bigger than Draco and Draco didn't have backup right now.  
  
Then Draco noticed something on the ground between them. It was his book. It had fallen out of the parcel and was just laying there, with the worn cover in plain sight. Now everybody was going to find out!  
  
Draco looked up at Ron again. He saw Ron look at him and then at the book. Ron made a kind of a face. Then he picked up the book. "You almost tore the cover off my book, Ferret. Watch out if you don't want any trouble."  
  
Draco stared at Ron. He didn't know what to say. But then Ron turned around and left, so he didn't have to say anything. The Slytherin was in shock! Ron had helped him out again, even when Draco was being mean to him.  
  
Although Ron did still have Draco's book.  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron took the book back to the Gryffindor common room. He was more mixed up than ever! One moment he wanted to punch Malfoy and the next minute, he was helping him out. He thought about the look on Draco's face when Ron said the book was his. Ron grinned.  
  
Only he still had the book. And he still might be gay. But just because he helped Draco didn't mean he wanted to do any sort of gay kissing thing with him.  
  
It would be a lot easier to figure out what to do with the book than about possibly being gay, so Ron concentrated on that. All he had to do was wait until patrol on Saturday night and give it to the Slytherin then.  
  
Ron looked at the book. The inside was in pretty good shape but the outside looked terrible. The cover was all battered and written on. Somebody had spilled Butterbeer on it too. If Malfoy had to use that, people would wonder why.  
  
If people couldn't see the cover, then that would be OK. Ron picked up some parchment from the table and folded it over the covers of the book and taped it down so it looked all neat and tidy. One of the corners was a little uneven, but Ron figured that would be all right. He put the book into his bookbag and got ready to go to class.  
  
But what about being gay? Ron thought he might as well get that figured out too. But how? 


	8. Thinking Things Over

A/N: I have changed the rating to R for stuff that will happen in future chapters. Chocolates and sparklers to all my reviewers! Thanx! I know my chapters are short but my writing style is to do short chapters really often, instead of saving them up to make longer chapters. It's just how I am! Thanx for reading! OK, on with the story.  
  
~*~  
  
8. Thinking Things Over  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron was trying to work out if he was actually gay. He didn't want to do anything drastic that would draw attention to himself, like kissing some guy or even asking other people what they thought. Instead, he thought that he could try some other low-key stuff.  
  
So in Transfiguration class, he went and sat next to Neville. Actually, he probably would have sat with Neville anyhow, since Harry was sitting with Hermione. But Ron hitched his chair so it was closer to Neville than he would normally have sat. When they tried to change a tomato into a teapot, he threw his arms wide so that he kept bumping into Neville.  
  
Ron didn't really feel anything special, and Neville asked him to please move his chair over a bit. That wasn't conclusive though, he could just not be attracted to Neville. So in Herbology, while they were weeding Shivering Stinktrees, Ron spent a lot of time looking over at Seamus.  
  
Did he think that Seamus was good-looking? Ron would have to say that he was. But that was just common noticing, not being gay. Instead, Ron thought about what it would be like to do things with Seamus, like hold his hand or kiss him. Ron thought about how it would feel going off behind the rack of potted plants with Seamus and putting his hands behind his neck and kissing him. And then having Seamus put his arms around Ron and stroke his back while they kissed.  
  
That sounded pretty good, actually. Seamus looked up and saw Ron looking at him. Ron looked away. He was breathing kind of hard. But he didn't want to get some sort of crush on Seamus, so he decided not to think about him any more.  
  
As a test, Ron looked at Lavender and imagined doing the same thing with her. It made him feel kind of icky.  
  
So that was it. He must be gay. Now what was he supposed to do about Draco?  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco was sitting by himself in the library. It was Friday night and he was studying because there was nothing else to do. Even if he was poor now, that wasn't going to keep him from getting a proper education.  
  
In fact, now he needed one even more than before, because now he was going to have to get a job when he was done school. He wondered what kind of job he would like to have. He never had paid much attention to that sort of thing before.  
  
Maybe he could be a teacher at Hogwarts. Though he was pretty sure he'd have to study more after school for that. He could be a tutor, though, like he'd had when he was young.  
  
He could work at the Ministry of Magic. Except that they probably wouldn't let him, because of his father. It wasn't fair! Just because his father had gotten mixed up in something, Draco and his mother had to suffer too.  
  
Draco was mad at his father for getting them into this mess. But he also missed him. Even though his father was stern and sometimes was involved in shady things, he was still Draco's father.  
  
The Slytherin put his head on his chin, forgetting about his Charms homework. If only he could do something to get his father out of jail! Then maybe things would go back to how they were.  
  
But he didn't know how he could do that.   
  
After a few minutes, he shook his head and tried to get back to his essay. But he was getting low on ink and he wasn't sure how he'd buy more. He decided he'd just have to steal some from Crabbe or Goyle when they were out. They were so thick, they'd never notice.  
  
Draco sighed. He was depressed, lonely, and bored. He was actually looking forward to patrolling with Ron tomorrow. At least he'd have someone to talk to. He hoped Ron would give his book back at that time.  
  
It was still early, but the blonde decided to go back to his room and go to bed anyhow. He picked up his books and left the library. He was halfway back to the common room when he turned a corner and ran right smack into Ron. 


	9. Moving Closer

Many thanx to all reviewers! You guys are the greatest! Chocolate Dracos for all of you!  
  
~*~  
  
9. Moving Closer  
  
-Draco-  
  
Twice in one day! Draco thought. Maybe the Gryffindor *was* following him. Draco opened his mouth to tell Ron off but instead he heard himself say, "Oh, sorry, Ron."  
  
What was this? Not only did Draco apologize for something that was not even his fault, but he called the Weasel by his first name! Draco wondered why he had done that.  
  
Ron looked a little flustered by this. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going," he said and looked at Draco with piercing blue eyes.  
  
Draco just stood there looking back at Ron. Ron was flushed and it made his freckles stand out on his pink cheeks. "Um..." Draco said and immediately cursed himself inside his head. Draco Malfoy at a loss for words? He said the first thing that he could think of. "Do you still have my book?"  
  
"Yeah, it's back in my common room. I could go get it for you now," Ron offered.  
  
Draco was relieved that Ron was going to give the book back. "Sure," he said. "I'll just wait here. I could get in trouble lurking around the Gryffindor common room."  
  
"I'll just be five minutes," Ron said. He walked away, looking back at Draco once.  
  
Draco waited for Ron. He was feeling less depressed now that he had gotten to talk to someone, even if it was just about a book.  
  
In just four and a half minutes, Ron was back. He handed the book to Draco. When Draco took it, he grabbed it a little too high and their fingers touched for a moment.  
  
When Draco looked at the book, he was surprised! The redhead had made a neat cover for the book out of parchment so that you couldn't see how wrecked it was. Draco looked at Ron. "Thanks, Ron," he said.  
  
"I thought--" Ron stopped and bit his lip. Draco wondered why. "I thought you could just say you were trying to keep the book looking nice, if anyone asked you about it."  
  
"That's a good idea," Draco said. He smiled at Ron. He was feeling very friendly towards Ron right now. Maybe they could talk some more.  
  
But Ron must have had other plans. "OK, well...I should go," he said.  
  
"OK, see you tomorrow," Draco said, disappointed.  
  
"Yeah, tomorrow." Ron gave a smile at Draco and then took off down the hall.  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron's stomach was all queasy as he walked down the hall. The night had started out pretty normal. Hermione had to do her prefect patrol, so Harry and Ron had played chess. It was nice to spend some time with Harry, since he hadn't had much of a chance so far.  
  
Ron had been a little worried about it, though, since discovering that he was gay. What if he were attracted to Harry? But he wasn't and so he was relieved. He thought about talking to Harry about it, but it was still kind of confusing to Ron so he wanted to keep it a secret for now.  
  
So the evening had been fun. But then when Hermione came back, Harry took her out for a "walk" outside. So Ron was left alone. He ended up wandering through the corridors when Draco had run right into him.  
  
Ron had still not thought much about his dream of Draco, because he was trying to avoid the subject. But when Draco's body was thrown into his, Ron couldn't help but think of it. And then when Draco was even nice to him, Ron found himself very attracted to the Slytherin.  
  
When their fingers touched over the book, it was like a very strong spark jolted all through Ron, almost making him catch fire. He hardly knew what to do, so just babbled some stuff and then left.  
  
But part of him wished he'd stayed and talked to Draco. The blonde had seemed almost eager to talk. What if Draco actually liked Ron in that way? But Ron couldn't quite believe that. Even if Draco was acting more like a regular person since he became poor, it didn't mean that he was attracted to Ron. That was a hopeless dream.  
  
Still, Ron now couldn't help dreaming it. He sat in the common room staring into the fire and thought about Draco's grey eyes that had looked at Ron with friendship. Draco's blonde hair that Ron wanted to slide his fingers through. Draco's red mouth that Ron wanted to--  
  
"OK, I admit it!" he yelled. Everyone in the room stared over at Ron and he felt himself turning red. At least he hadn't said out loud what he finally said inside his head:  
  
He wanted to kiss Draco Malfoy. 


	10. Too Far

Here's the next chapter! I'll try to keep updating on most days.  
  
~*~  
  
10. Too Far  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron spent the day mostly alone. Harry and Hermione were out "walking" some more most of the time. Seamus and Dean and Neville were out playing soccer and they asked him to play too, but Ron felt a little nervous around Seamus right now, so he said he had to do some homework.  
  
He actually did do his homework, too, but it took him twice as long because he kept daydreaming about Draco. Tonight he'd get to see Draco again. And they could talk some more while they were patrolling. Maybe Ron could figure out if Draco liked him and in what kind of way.  
  
Ron tried to make some sort of plan of things he could talk to Draco about, but he just kept thinking about his dream of kissing Draco and how that had felt. So he guessed he'd just have to wing it.  
  
At supper, he kept looking over to the Slytherin table to where Draco was sitting and eating alone. Ron thought that maybe Draco smiled at him but Ron looked away so fast he wasn't sure. It made him feel hot all over.  
  
By the time he had to go for patrol, Ron was pretty nervous. And he felt stupid for being nervous. He hoped he wouldn't *do* anything stupid.  
  
They were both right on time. "Hi, Draco," Ron said.  
  
"Hi Ron," Draco said. And Draco even smiled at Ron. Ron lit up with a big smile of his own at that.  
  
Then they started the patrol. There were lots of younger students in the hallways, but most of the sixth and seventh years were out in Hogsmeade on dates. For a while, they were quite busy with catching rule-breakers.  
  
Ron tried to think of something to say to Draco. All he could think of was, "What's your Quidditch team?"  
  
"Didn't you see my badge the other day when you were staring at my ripped robes?" Draco asked, with a grin.  
  
Ron tried hard to remember, but he couldn't. "No, I was too shocked by the situation," he replied with a grin of his own.  
  
"The Wimbourne Wasps," Draco said. "What's yours?"  
  
"The Chudley Cannons, of course! And this year is the year they're going to win the championship!"   
  
"The Cannons are old women!" Draco said.  
  
Ron socked Draco in the arm, but only hard enough to joke. "The Wasps are babies!"  
  
Draco socked Ron back. "Take that back!"  
  
"Never!" said Ron and shoved Draco. Ron was really happy right now. He and Draco were getting along really well. He could hardly believe they were joking with each other.  
  
"I could hex you, you know." Draco shoved Ron.  
  
"I could beat you up, you know." Ron grabbed Draco by the front of his robes.  
  
"Hey, watch it! Remember what happened last time!" Draco looked angry now and Ron got worried. He let go. "Gotcha!" said Draco and tripped Ron and laughed.  
  
Ron grabbed Draco by the ankle and pulled him over. They started wrestling right there in the hallway. They were both laughing at the same time.  
  
All the wrestling was making Ron feel all excited and shivery inside. He was close to Draco and their bodies were being thrown together a lot as they wrestled. Then Ron pinned Draco to the floor. He had his hands on Draco's shoulders and his knees were on either side of Draco's chest. "I win!" Ron said.  
  
"Never," Draco said. "Now let me go!" He struggled but Ron held him tightly. Ron stared down at Draco. Draco's hair was all messed up and his face was flushed from the wrestling. Ron was almost hypnotized by the sight. Like he was being pulled by an invisible force, he leaned in close to Draco until their noses were touching. Ron's heart was pounding so loudly he thought that it was echoing in the hallway.  
  
Then Ron pressed his lips against Draco's. Draco's lips were soft and warm. Ron couldn't believe what he was doing! How stupid could he be? He jerked away suddenly. He was sure he was red as a beet. He jumped up. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said. He couldn't look at Draco. He felt so embarrassed. He couldn't stay, so he ran off.  
  
"Ron," Draco said, but Ron didn't stop. He ran all the way back to the common room. 


	11. A Malfoy and a Weasley?

For all my reviewers, here's the next chapter! You guys are the best!  
  
~*~  
  
11. A Malfoy and a Weasley?  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco watched Ron run away. Many thoughts and feelings were churning in Draco's head right then. He'd started out the evening happy to be on patrol with Ron. They'd even joked together and Draco had started thinking that maybe they could be friends. It didn't seem like Ron hated Draco any more.  
  
And then Ron had kissed him. Draco could hardly believe it. Even though Ron had been nice to Draco, it was a big jump from being nice to kissing. Except that it hadn't been, actually.  
  
Partly, Draco was surprised that the Gryffindor would kiss another boy at all. He never suspected that Ron was gay. But even if he had, he wouldn't have thought Ron would feel that way about him!  
  
So, Draco wondered about that. But he was also wondering about himself. How did he feel about Ron? Draco reached his hand up to his mouth and touched his lips. It had only been a small kiss, but his lips were still tingling with the memory.   
  
Draco realised that he was still sitting on the floor in the hallway, so he got up. He went back to his dormitory and went to bed. But he didn't sleep. Instead, he thought about the situation.  
  
Unlike Ron, Draco already knew that he liked both boys and girls. He had done some experimenting the year before and he didn't have any problem with it. Whatever a Malfoy wanted, a Malfoy should get -- that was his motto.  
  
And now Draco started to wonder if he wanted the redhead. He had been so caught up with his problems of money that he hadn't stopped to examine his feelings.  
  
But now he did. He thought about how Ron had looked before, when he had Draco pinned to the ground. His red hair was falling over his forehead and his blue eyes were looking right into Draco's. When Ron had leaned in, Draco felt his heart jump inside him.  
  
The kiss was soft and sweet. Draco could still feel Ron's lips pressing gently against his own. At the time, he had been so surprised he hadn't done anything. But now Draco found himself wishing that he had held on to Ron and started kissing him more.  
  
Draco started daydreaming about Ron. He would have put his hands on Ron's shoulders, which were broad and muscular, and pushed Ron's mouth open with his tongue. Then Ron would lie down next to Draco and they would press their bodies together while they kissed.  
  
The thoughts were starting to make Draco breathe hard. But would he get the chance to make them a reality? Ron probably thought that Draco was mad at him now.   
  
Draco would just have to find a way to let Ron know that it was OK. But then Draco had a sudden thought. Even though he liked spending time with Ron, if people saw them together too much, they might wonder why. And if people started wondering why a Malfoy was hanging out with a Weasley, they might find out about Draco's poverty.  
  
"Fuck!" he said out loud and punched his pillow. 


	12. Breakfast

I'm sorry this took so long! I got busy and didn't have time to write.  
  
~*~  
  
12. Breakfast  
  
-Draco-  
  
When Draco went to sleep, he was feeling quite frustrated over the situation. He wanted to be with Ron, but he also wanted to make sure that his secret did not get out. That was his number one priority.  
  
But when Draco woke up, he realised that all he had to do was make sure that he kept the relationship, if they got to have one, a secret too. Two secrets would be harder to keep than one, but Draco felt that since he would be a lot happier, it was worth the extra trouble.  
  
But first he had to see if Ron wanted to be with him or if the kiss had just been a fluke. He thought he'd try to catch Ron after breakfast and talk to him, if he figured he could do it without having everybody look. He'd leave the hall early so he could grab Ron on the way out.  
  
Draco figured it was a pretty good plan. But unfortunately, it had a flaw. Ron never came to breakfast. Draco sat so he could look over at the Gryffindor table and he could see Harry and Hermione eating and smirking disgustingly at each other. But no Ron.  
  
What if Ron was sick? Draco wasn't sure he could find out without drawing attention. But then he thought of a way.  
  
He sat at the very end of the table and waited until Harry and Hermione were going by. Then he cast a Tripping Hex on Harry. Harry fell right down at Draco's feet.  
  
Draco laughed in his most horrible voice. "Watch out, Scarface," he said. "Where's the Weasel today? Did he get sick of watching you two and have to go to the hospital wing?"  
  
Harry jumped up angrily but Hermione grabbed him by the arm. "You just wish, Malfoy. The day they put Ron in the hospital, I'll come looking for you."  
  
Draco was relieved that Ron wasn't sick, at least not enough to go in hospital. But where could he be? Draco hardly noticed Harry still yelling at him as Hermione dragged him away.  
  
It was Sunday, so Draco wouldn't even see Ron for sure until Potions class on Monday. He decided to go back to the library and work on his homework some more. Then at lunch he'd try again. Ron had to eat *sometime*.  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron wasn't at breakfast because he was still in bed. He was tired out from not sleeping very well. Also, he was very tense. He kept thinking over and over about how stupid he was.  
  
Why did he have to kiss Draco like that? He didn't even mean to, really, it just happened! He almost smiled as he remembered the kiss, but he also remembered the shame that he felt.  
  
Draco was going to kill Ron now. Or tell everybody about it. So now Ron not only had wrecked his chances of being friends with Draco, his secret of being gay was now about to be spread all through the school.  
  
But being gay shouldn't be something that he was embarrassed about. So maybe it wouldn't be so bad if everyone knew. Only Ron wasn't really ready for that.  
  
After imagining how Draco would laugh at Ron and tell people about this, Ron started to feel angry at the Slytherin. He'd thought Draco was different now but probably he was just the same. What could Ron do?  
  
If he just stayed in bed, he'd be sunk for sure. So he got up. But he needed a plan. Then he remembered something -- he was the only one who knew Draco's big secret! Now he had a way to force Draco to be quiet. Or to get even with him if he had already told.  
  
Ron got dressed and went out of the common room. When he met his various friends, they were all just normal to him, so he thought that Draco hadn't told yet. When he passed a bunch of Slytherins and they didn't say anything either, Ron knew he was safe for now.  
  
But he had to find Draco. Ron wasn't sure where to look. But by chance, he picked the exact place Draco was -- the library.  
  
Ron walked in and saw Draco at a table with a stack of books. Jeez, Ron thought, he's as bad as Hermione! He went right over to the table. He banged his fist down and a stack of books fell over.  
  
Ron scowled at the blonde. "Listen up, Malfoy," he said. 


	13. In The Library

Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'm sorry I left the cliffhanger until now. I wanted to update but I was busy for a few days. I hope to catch up this weekend.  
  
~*~  
  
13. In The Library  
  
-Ron-  
  
When Ron banged the table, the librarian looked over at him and frowned in a disapproving way. So Ron figured he'd better whisper so he wouldn't get thrown out before he got to talk to Draco. The Slytherin was looking up at Ron with a sort of blank look on his face.  
  
As Ron looked at Draco's blonde hair and grey eyes, he felt a sort of shiver all through him, which was not due to being mad. Even though he was sorry he'd kissed Draco the night before, he felt like doing it again now.  
  
He wanted to grab Draco right here in the library and pull him close and kiss him, even though he knew that Draco wouldn't like it and even though then everybody would know that he liked Draco and was gay.  
  
Ron shook his head to try to think clearly. He was here to stop Draco from spreading his secret, not to reveal it to everyone himself. He whispered to Draco, but in a harsh tone. "I'm only going to say this once, Malfoy, so listen good. I know you're planning to tell everyone, but you'd better not. Or I'll tell everyone about YOU. And then everyone will know that your secret. So just keep your mouth shut." Ron felt mostly angry now, instead of shivery.  
  
"No, Ron," Draco said, but Ron didn't want to listen to any Slytherin tricks.  
  
"I said just keep your mouth shut." Ron pushed the pile of books over onto the floor and then ran out before the librarian could tell him off.  
  
He thought he would feel better after it was over, but instead he just felt worse. Everything was over. Then he remembered he still had to patrol with Draco! Aaargh!  
  
Maybe he could get the Head Boy to change the schedule. The redhead went off to try to find him.  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco was so shocked by what had just happened that he sat there with his mouth open for about a minute. The librarian was glaring at him because of the books and he finally started picking them up.  
  
What had just happened? He was completely mystified by Ron's behaviour. First he thought Ron liked him and now Ron was threatening him. Because Ron thought Draco was going to do something bad?  
  
Draco thought about what the Gryffindor had said. I know you're planning to tell everyone. Draco guessed that Ron was talking about the kiss. It was starting to make sense now. Ron probably didn't want people to find out about it and he thought that Draco would tell everyone.  
  
The redhead didn't know that Draco actually liked him a lot and had no intention of telling anybody. Draco slammed his own fist onto the table. At that point the librarian came over and told him to get out for the rest of the day. So Draco took his books and left.  
  
He put the books back in his dorm, and then decided to take his Firebolt and fly. At least he still had his broom. He had been worried that he would have to sell it but his mother wanted him to be able to keep playing Quidditch.  
  
So Draco went out flying. He flew all over the grounds and above the Forbidden Forest. He flew for an hour, just thinking about his problems and about Ron and how much he liked him.  
  
Then he landed by the lake and sat for a while. He had to think of how to let Ron know that he actually liked him. He could write the redhead a note, but someone else might find it. He thought about trying to find Ron and talk to him now, but Ron was probably too mad. He might even tell Draco's secret anyhow, out of anger.  
  
Draco sighed when he thought about how sexy Ron looked when he was angry. His blue eyes snapped and his cheeks got all red under his freckles.  
  
They had Potions class the next day -- maybe Draco could talk to Ron then. It seemed like a long time to wait. 


	14. Potions Trouble

14. Potions Trouble  
  
-Draco-  
  
Monday was very boring for Draco because he was only waiting for Potions class, when he would see Ron. He had planned out that after class, he would try to pull Ron aside and talk to him. Before that, if he could, he would try to show Ron that he was friendly.  
  
Draco didn't dare try to sit with Ron -- that would be really suspicious to everyone. But he took a seat across the aisle from Ron. He looked over at the Gryffindor so he could smile at him, but Ron didn't look at him at all. Draco felt sad because of that. But a Malfoy never gave up so Draco decided to keep trying.  
  
After Professor Snape's lecture, they had to make a Preserving Potion. Draco kept looking over at Ron. Then Ron dropped his dried pumpkin rind on the floor, in the middle of the aisle. Draco was eager for a chance to help Ron, so he went to pick it up. But Ron got there first. "Watch it, Malfoy," Ron hissed with a harsh look.  
  
Draco sighed. Ron was really a pain. Draco wanted to get everything sorted out, but if Ron was going to be such a jerk, Draco thought he might change his mind about that. He decided to concentrate on his own potion. He had to keep his grades up, after all.  
  
Then all of a sudden, Draco's cauldron, which he was stirring, tipped over. The Preserving Potion got all over the floor and all over his robes and even on his books. It was orange and very sticky.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, what is going on?" Professor Snape said.  
  
"My cauldron tipped over, Professor," Draco said."  
  
"I can see that. Why did it tip?" Snape asked.  
  
"I don't know," Draco said. He was mystified. He hadn't bumped it or anything.  
  
"Zero marks for this class and you'll have to clean that all up before you can go," Snape said. All the Gryffindors snickered at that, but then Snape yelled at them so they shut up.  
  
Draco looked over and saw that Ron was finally looking back at him. But Ron had a smug look on his face and Draco realised that Ron had made his cauldron tip, probably with a Pushing Charm.  
  
This was just too much for Draco. Ron had made Draco get a zero grade, spoilt his books, messed up his robes, and caused Draco to have to stay after class. He was completely furious. He glared at Ron.  
  
The redhead was acting like a total jerk! Draco had had enough. He decided that he wasn't going to waste any more time trying to be nice to Ron. In fact, it was only his need to keep a low profile that would stop him from doing things against Ron.  
  
If only they didn't have to patrol together.  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron was in a bad mood. He had been cranky for nearly two days now, ever since he had kissed Draco. He got even crankier after he had talked to Draco in the library. It didn't seem fair that they had been getting along so well and now they weren't. But Ron figured that their getting along had actually been a fluke. Friends with Malfoy? How could he even have considered it?  
  
Unfortunately, the Head Boy wouldn't switch the patrolling schedules. So Ron was stuck with Draco! He complained about Draco to Harry and Hermione, but of course he didn't tell them the whole problem. So he still felt upset and irritated.  
  
In Potions class, the Slytherin had been even more of a pain. He sat near Ron and kept trying to harass him somehow. So Ron got back at him by making his cauldron tip over. But it didn't make Ron feel good. In fact, he felt sort of bad, especially when it looked like some of Draco's books were messed up.  
  
But Ron was determined that that wouldn't bother him. It was just Malfoy, after all.  
  
The rest of the day went OK for Ron. At supper, he made sure he sat with his back to the Slytherin table, so he couldn't see Draco. Then in the evening, he finished his homework and played Gobstones with Neville. Things were going to be alright.  
  
And then Ron had another dream about Draco. In this dream, they were in Ron's bedroom at the Burrow. Ron was sitting on the bed. Draco put a locking charm on the door and came over to Ron. Then they started to kiss.  
  
They kissed for a long, long time. Ron pulled Draco down and they were lying down together on the bed. Draco was rubbing his hands over Ron's back while they kissed. Ron was really turned on. He was trying to pull Draco's robes open when he woke up.  
  
It wasn't going to be easy to get over Draco after all. 


	15. Standoff

Thank you so much to all my reviewers! You make my day every time!  
  
~*~  
  
15. Standoff  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron spent all of Tuesday in a muddled state. He was partly mad at Draco and partly felt bad about the prank he had done in class and totally was wanting to kiss him. He didn't know exactly what he was going to do when they went on patrol together.  
  
At supper, he was getting pretty nervous. So he didn't eat very much. Hermione noticed. "What's the matter, Ron?" she said. "You've been acting kind of strange."  
  
"Nothing," Ron said. He tried to eat more so he wouldn't seem strange.  
  
"Are you sick?" Harry said.  
  
"No! I'm fine!" Ron took a big bite of mashed potatoes.  
  
"It's a girl, isn't it?" Harry said. Ron choked for a second and almost sprayed his mashed potatoes all over Harry. He swallowed and glared at Harry.  
  
"It's nothing!" Ron wondered if he should tell Harry and Hermione about his being gay. Not at supper, of course, but later on. It would feel a lot better if he could tell someone about his situation. He still didn't want to tell them about Draco, but since that was only part of Ron's secret, he could leave it out.  
  
But there wasn't any time before the patrol. He only had about 45 minutes and he knew that a conversation about being gay would likely take longer than that.  
  
So Ron just tried to eat and concentrated on looking as normal as he could. He asked Harry a question about Quidditch and Harry went off on that for about 20 minutes.  
  
After supper, Ron went back to the common room and sat in front of the fire for a little while. There wasn't really time to do anything else. He wondered how the patrol would go. Draco was probably really mad at Ron now, so Ron would have to be on guard against him.  
  
He went to where he was supposed to meet the Slytherin. Draco was there, with an unpleasant look on his face. "Hello, Weasel," Draco said.  
  
So that was how it was. The part of Ron that was mad at Draco took over. "Shut up, Ferret," he said, with an angry look.  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco wanted to just skip the patrol, but that would cause problems, so he went anyhow. When he met Ron, he thought that Ron looked like just as much of a jerk as he had been the day before. He was really mad at Ron. The sticky orange potion had been really hard to get out of his robes and Draco thought there was still a bit of a stain on them. And three of his books had orange patches on the covers now.  
  
He had used the trick of taping parchment over them that Ron had showed him, but he wasn't grateful for it, because it was all Ron's fault that he had to do this now. And a zero grade for that potion was no laughing matter.  
  
So, they started off the patrol and just walked around in silence for a while. But it was a cold, angry silence and it just made Draco feel more mad at Ron. And mad at himself for getting tricked into thinking Ron was nice.  
  
Then they found two Slytherin first years who were out too late. "Go back to your dorm," Draco said. They looked scared by Draco's cold voice and they ran off.  
  
Ron yelled after them, "And 20 points from Slytherin!"  
  
Draco stared at Ron. "20 points just for being out late? You bastard!"  
  
Ron glared back. "Just shut up, Malfoy. If they're going to break the rules, they have to take the consequences."  
  
Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing! He laughed in a mocking way. "Coming from you, that's really funny, Weasel. You break the rules all the time and hardly ever have to face any consequences."  
  
"I said SHUT UP!" Ron gave Draco a shove.  
  
Draco shoved Ron back. "Don't mess with me, Weasley," he said.  
  
"Maybe I'll leave you alone if you PAY me," the redhead said, with a sneering look.  
  
Now Draco was madder than he had been all year. He pulled out his wand at the same moment as Ron brought his fists up. They were stuck in a standoff. Ron's face was so white that his freckles looked almost bright red. His blue eyes were blazing as they looked at Draco. Draco looked back, with the same intensity. They stared at each other for about half a minute.  
  
Then Draco dropped his wand on the floor and kissed Ron. 


	16. On The Couch

Thanx for the reviews again! You guys are the greatest! I hope you like this chapter.  
  
~*~  
  
16. On The Couch  
  
-Draco-  
  
The kiss was not soft and sweet, like when Ron had kissed him before. Instead, it was a hard kiss. Draco really wanted to kiss Ron, but he was still kind of mad, so the kiss showed that.  
  
Ron seemed kind of frozen for a minute, but then he started kissing Draco back. He even put his arms around Draco. Draco pushed his tongue into the redhead's mouth until their tongues were licking at each other. He put his hands around Ron's waist. Ron was stroking Draco's back. Draco liked the way Ron's hands felt.  
  
The kissing gave Draco a hot feeling all through his body. He wanted to kiss Ron for hours and hours. Then he realised they were still standing in the hallway!  
  
He pulled away from Ron and looked around the hallway. Ron seemed confused, but Draco pointed to a door a little ways down. "In there," he said.  
  
Ron nodded. The Gryffindor was flushed and his blue eyes were sparkling. They went through the door which turned out to be a small study with a desk and chair and shelves. But they were empty so they were probably safe from anyone coming in.  
  
Best of all, there was a couch. They sat down on it and looked at each other. Draco thought how handsome Ron looked. He reached out and touched Ron's face with his fingers, on his cheek, over his freckles. Ron was looking right back at him and it made Draco shiver. He brushed his fingers over Ron's soft lips. Ron caught two of Draco's fingers in his mouth and sucked on them. Draco could hardly believe how good that felt.  
  
Then Ron leaned in close and kissed Draco on the mouth. They put their arms around each other. Ron was bending over Draco, pushing him further and further back, until they were lying down on the couch. Ron was on top of Draco. They kissed and kissed for a long time.  
  
Draco moved so that he was beside Ron now. They stopped kissing and just looked into each other's eyes. Draco felt the happiest he had been in a long, long time. He wished they could just stay like this forever.  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron felt warm and glowy all over. His mouth was tingling from the kissing. He thought it might even be a little swollen. As he looked deeply into Draco's warm grey eyes, he wondered if this might be another dream. It was almost too good to be true.  
  
He licked the tip of Draco's nose. Draco laughed. "What was that for?" he said.  
  
"You have a cute nose," Ron said.  
  
"I do not!" Draco said.  
  
"Yes, you do." Ron licked it again.  
  
"No licking!" Draco gave Ron a shove. Ron was on the outside of the couch and he fell right off onto the floor. He reached up and grabbed Draco and pulled him off too. They ended up tangled together on the floor.  
  
Ron felt really, really good except for one thing. He felt guilty about how he'd treated Draco over the last few days. It was obvious now that Draco hadn't been planning to spread any stories about Ron. It made Ron feel kind of sick.  
  
"Draco," he said in a hesitant tone.  
  
"If it's about my cute nose, I don't want to hear it," Draco said with a grin.  
  
Ron smiled back. Then he frowned. "I'm really sorry I was so mean over the last few days. After I kissed you, I was so scared I kind of freaked out. I thought you were going to tell everybody about it."  
  
Draco gave Ron a quick kiss. "You'll just have to make it up to me somehow." He used a teasing voice that made Ron think of all the ways he could make it up to Draco. It made him blush.  
  
Then he thought of something else. "So, does this mean that we're...going out now?"  
  
"Yeah, as long as you want us to," Draco said. "Only..." And Draco frowned.  
  
Ron felt a cold shock at the frown. He worried about what Draco would say.  
  
"Only we have to keep it a secret," Draco finished. "It's because of my secret of being poor. If people pay too much attention to me, then they'll find out."  
  
Ron was relieved. He wasn't ready for everybody to know, anyhow. It could be secret for a while. "OK," he said and sealed it with a kiss. He had a boyfriend! If this was a dream, he hoped he wouldn't wake up for a long time. 


	17. Happy

Thank you for all the reviews, guys! Rikku Motomiya -- I figured Draco just picked up his wand when they went into the room. Maybe I'll edit the chapter to say that. Now on to the story.  
  
~*~  
  
17. Happy  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron had been with Draco for at least an hour after their patrol was over. They were sitting together on the couch in the study, holding hands and giving each other small kisses on the face and lips and neck.  
  
Then Draco kind of pulled back. "We should probably go," he said with a sigh. "If we're out late, we'll get in trouble."  
  
Ron sighed too. "But I don't want you to go." He kissed Draco on the nose.  
  
"Not the nose again!" the blonde said.  
  
"Can we meet tomorrow?" Ron wanted to know. He didn't want to wait any longer than he had to to see Draco again.  
  
"I have Quidditch practice in the evening, but I could meet you at 9 PM."  
  
"Here?" Ron said. "This can be our special spot."  
  
"Just for us," Draco said and kissed Ron on his nose. "Your nose is cuter than mine."  
  
"It is not!" Ron was secretly pleased though.  
  
"It is! It's the freckles." Draco smiled at Ron. It made Ron's stomach all fluttery to see that smile.  
  
Ron leaned over and kissed the Slytherin goodnight. Then he got up, even though he didn't want to. "Well, good night then."  
  
"Remember we have to keep this secret," Draco said with a small frown.  
  
"Don't worry, Draco," Ron said. "I won't tell anybody and if I meed you in the hall, I'll make sure to insult you. I'll say how ugly your nose is."  
  
Draco laughed. He stood up too and ran his hands through Ron's hair, straightening it out. "You look less suspicious now. Good night, Ron," he said and gave Ron one last kiss.  
  
Ron left the room and started to walk back to the dorm. He walked slowly because he wanted to spend some time thinking about what had just happened. He and Draco had made out for a long time! Things didn't go very far, but that was OK for now. Ron was really happy just thinking about kissing Draco now. And he'd get to do it again tomorrow!  
  
When he went into the common room, Harry and Hermione noticed him right away.  
  
"You're smiling," Hermione said. "You must be happy about something."  
  
"Uh..." Ron had to think of an excuse really fast. "I was just thinking about winning the Quidditch Cup last year."  
  
Harry smacked him on the shoulder. "And we're going to do it again this year."  
  
"For sure," Ron said. Then he went up to bed.  
  
He smiled and thought about Draco until he fell asleep.  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco was smiling too. He had not expected that he'd be able to sort things out with Ron so fast. And now they were in a relationship together. Draco really hoped that things would work out. The redhead was really nice and playful. He was also handsome and a very good kisser.  
  
Draco could still feel Ron's kisses on his mouth. He went back to his dorm and went to bed. He thought about Ron for a long time, until he fell asleep. In the morning, he thought about Ron some more. He was counting down the hours until he got to see Ron again.  
  
At breakfast, Draco sat where he could see Ron. He tried not to stare at Ron but it was hard. Sometimes they caught each other's glance and Draco had to bite his tongue so he wouldn't give Ron a big smile.  
  
He had a hard time paying attention in class too. He kept daydreaming about Ron. He wondered if the Gryffindor was thinking about him at the exact same time. Maybe Ron was thinking about kissing Draco and lying down with him on the couch. Draco was so involved in his daydream, that he didn't notice that History of Magic class had been over for five minutes.  
  
Then at the end of the schoolday, the Slytherins had Care of Magical Creatures class with the Gryffindors. Draco was excited about seeing Ron, but worried that they might get found out.  
  
When he got to the class gathering place, he stayed in the back. Ron was nearer the front, with Harry and Hermione. Draco stared at the back of Ron's head and wished that it were 9 PM already.  
  
Ron only looked at Draco once, but when he did, his blue eyes were so intense that Draco had to bite his tongue again.  
  
Quidditch practise went OK. Draco was doing really well that year and he thought the team had a good chance of winning the Cup. It was cold and rainy out so Draco took a long hot shower afterwards.  
  
Then it was time to meet Ron. He went to the special study room. As he walked, he figured out a way to charm it so that only he and Ron could see the door. So he did that when he got there, then went inside.  
  
Ron was already there and without even saying hello, he put his arms around Draco and kissed him.  
  
It was almost a repeat of the night before. They lay down together on the couch and pressed close together while they kissed. Draco kissed and licked at Ron's neck. Ron kept stroking Draco's hair and that felt really good too.  
  
After a while, they slowed down and exchanged little kisses while they touched each other's face. "You're sweet," Ron said to Draco.  
  
"Sweet? I'm a Malfoy!" Draco said. He bit Ron's lip gently.  
  
"Sweet Malfoy, yes," Ron said and grinned.  
  
"Well, you're sweet too." Draco touched his nose against Ron's. Being with Ron made him feel so good. He didn't think he'd ever been this happy before.  
  
At 10 PM, they had to go, but they would see each other again the next day. Draco did the ritual of smoothing Ron's hair before he left.  
  
"Now you just have to think of a way to keep me from smiling so much," Ron said.  
  
Draco laughed. "If I knew how, I'd use it on myself." 


	18. Half A Secret

18. Half A Secret  
  
-Draco-  
  
Things were working out mostly pretty good for Draco these days. His secret of being poor was still safe. And now his secret of going out with Ron was safe too. They managed not to talk to each other or look at each other too much in between meeting in the study or going on patrol together.  
  
Draco was really happy being with Ron. The Gryffindor was really nice and a lot of fun to be with. Sometimes he told Draco silly jokes that made him groan.  
  
On Saturday night, after they finished patrol, they went to their special room together.  
  
"No need to leave early tonight. Everybody else is at Hogsmeade on dates!" Ron said.  
  
"We're just having our date here instead," Draco said. "It's cheaper." That made Ron laugh.  
  
Ron leaned over and gave Draco a kiss on the cheek. Then he took Draco's hand and played with his fingers. "Draco, I need to ask you something."  
  
Draco looked at Ron. Ron looked a little nervous. Draco hoped this wouldn't be anything too bad. "What is it?"  
  
"Well, I know that we have to keep this secret and I understand that, but I would really like to tell Harry and Hermione about my being gay. Do you think that would be alright, if I didn't say about you and me?" Ron's face went all pink at this and he squeezed Draco's hand.  
  
Draco thought for a minute. "You can tell them if you don't tell them about me. What do you think they'll say?"  
  
"I don't know," Ron said. "But I'm tired of hiding it from them."  
  
"If you even get a chance to talk to them. They are always together making gooey eyes at each other." Draco laughed a little. Even though he liked Ron a lot, he still didn't like Hermione and Harry at all. He thought they were both stuck up. Plus Harry had wrecked a lot of things for Draco. But he was just as glad that they were going out because it made Ron freer to spend time with Draco.  
  
The redhead smiled. "Thank you. Now I just have to figure out what to say and when! Maybe tomorrow after breakfast."  
  
"As long as you don't want to go to Hogsmeade and find them now!" Draco kissed Ron and they started making out.  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron was really pleased that Draco didn't mind his plan of telling Harry and Hermione that he was gay. It had been weighing on his mind lately. Actually, he wished that he could tell them about Draco too. He wanted them to know why he was happy all the time these days.  
  
After he and Draco left their special study at 11 PM, Ron went back to the Gryffindor common room to think about what he would say. All he could think of was just to tell them bluntly. He hoped that would work out well and not be too much of a shock.  
  
Maybe he should have been dropping hints somehow before this. But what? Like mentioning how attractive Seamus was? That didn't seem like a good idea, especially if they told Seamus what he'd said.  
  
He stayed up thinking until midnight. Harry and Hermione were still not back from their date, even though they were supposed to be in at 11:30 PM. Ron wondered how Harry had managed to convince Hermione to break the rules and stay out. Then he thought maybe he'd rather not know that.  
  
Ron went to bed. In the morning, he went to breakfast with Harry and Hermione. They were talking about their date in Hogsmeade the night before.  
  
"We went for coffee first," Hermione said. "And Harry bought me a rose!"  
  
"Then we went to a new club that's just opened up: Goldenwands. A lot of people were there dancing."  
  
Ron sighed a little when he heard that. He wished that he and Draco could go out on Hogsmeade dates too. But even if their relationship weren't a secret, neither of them could afford it anyhow. He looked over to the Slytherin table and caught the blonde's eye. Draco gave him a small smile. Ron returned the smile, then tried to listen to Harry and Hermione some more.  
  
"I know you have to patrol on Saturday nights," Harry said. "But you have time for a date after. Next week you should ask some girl out and we'll all go together."  
  
Ron felt a little sick inside when he heard that. He had to tell them today! After they were done eating, Ron made a suggestion. "Let's go out for a walk now, before we start our homework. We never go for walks anymore."  
  
Harry and Hermione agreed and they went out to walk around the grounds. When they got near to the lake, Ron started walking a little slower as he got his nerve up. Then he stopped.  
  
The others took a second to notice that. Then they came back to him. "What is it, Ron?" Hermione said.  
  
"I want to tell you something," Ron said. He knew his face was getting red.  
  
"I knew it," Harry said. "This is about that girl, right?"  
  
"What girl?" Ron said.  
  
"The girl that makes you smile all the time," Harry said and socked Ron in the shoulder.  
  
"No," Ron said. "There is no girl. In fact, that's kind of what I want to tell you." Then he stopped. His tongue felt kind of numb and it was hard to get more words out.  
  
Hermione put her hand on Ron's arm. "You can tell us, Ron."  
  
Ron felt like there were ice cubes in his stomach. He knew he'd better just say it right out. "I'm gay," he said. 


	19. Friends and Enemies

Sorry this was longer to be updated. I'm very sleepy so I hope I didn't mess anything up!  
  
~*~  
  
19. Friends and Enemies  
  
-Ron-  
  
Harry looked really shocked, just like Ron had been afraid he'd be. His mouth was hanging open and he kept blinking. Hermione looked shocked as well. "I guess I'm kind of surprised," she said. She squeezed Ron's arm. "But I'm glad that you told us."  
  
Ron was relieved to hear that. Hermione was taking it really well. Harry was still gaping like a fish though.  
  
"I just realised it this year," Ron said. Now that he'd got the big secret out, it was easier to talk about it some more.  
  
Harry finally closed his mouth. "So you don't have a girlfriend," he said.  
  
"No," Ron said in a patient way. "I'm gay. So I don't have a girlfriend."  
  
"Then do you have a boyfriend?" Hermione wanted to know.  
  
Ron swallowed, then said "No." He figured that even hinting that would be too much. But he really wanted to tell them about him and Draco. That would shock them even more, but once they got used to the idea, they'd be happy for him. Ron couldn't reveal that without the Slytherin's OK.  
  
"Hmm," said Hermione. She sounded like she was thinking.  
  
Harry was still looking uncomfortable. Now he was turning pink. "Ron," he said, "you don't...you know..." He stuttered a little and didn't finish his sentence.  
  
Ron tried to figure out what Harry was going on about. Harry wasn't even looking at Ron. Then Ron got it. "No, I'm not attracted to you," he told Harry.  
  
Harry got a funny look on his face. "Oh, OK. Good."  
  
Ron thought that maybe Harry was mostly relieved but maybe slightly hurt.  
  
"So, you don't have a boyfriend," Hermione said. Ron wondered about the look on her face. Either it was a snoopy look or a scheming look. Either could be bad for him.  
  
"I'm not sure I want a boyfriend right now," Ron said. "I wouldn't have the time for one. Or the money." He smiled a little to himself at that. "And it might interfere with my Quidditch."  
  
When Ron mentioned Quidditch, Harry changed the subject and started to go on about their strategies for that year.  
  
Ron was glad that conversation was over. He thought it had gone quite well.  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco was sitting in the Slytherin common room. He was trying to do his History homework, but he kept thinking about Ron instead. He wouldn't get to see Ron at all that day -- they weren't meeting until Monday night. He wondered how Ron's talk with Harry and Hermione was going.  
  
Blaise Zabini sat down next to Draco. "Hi, Malfoy," he said.  
  
"Hi, Zabini." Draco wondered why Blaise was there. They had never been friends in all their years at Hogwarts.  
  
"I've heard a few things about you," Zabini said. Draco immediately felt paralysed by anxiety. He had too many secrets -- he didn't know which one Zabini might be mentioning.  
  
"What have you heard?" Draco tried really hard to keep his voice casual, like usual, but he thought that he maybe sounded kind of worried.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't tell you." Zabini smirked meanly. "Unless you PAY me."  
  
Draco felt like a big block of stone was sitting in his stomach. He was 99% sure that Zabini knew his secret of being poor. He had to get Zabini not to tell somehow. "Will you tell anyone else?"  
  
Zabini gave Draco a look of triumph. "That depends on you, Malfoy. They can pay me to tell. Or maybe I'll tell anyway just for fun. Or you can pay me not to tell."  
  
Now Draco was confused. How did Zabini think Draco was going to pay him, anyhow. "Sure," Draco said. "What do you want?"  
  
Zabini tapped Draco's books that were lying all over the table. "I think that if you do my History essay and then my Charms assignment for Monday, I could be persuaded to keep the secret for the time being."  
  
Draco nodded and Zabini left. Draco was really, really angry. His hands were even shaking. But he didn't know what else to do. How had Zabini found out? Draco had to find that out. But more importantly, he had to keep Zabini from telling.  
  
Draco tried to calm himself down. He knew that he shouldn't think about this too much while he was angry. It was better to wait he felt better, then he could plan.  
  
More than anything, Draco wanted to run out and find Ron right now. Instead, he got another piece of parchment and started Zabini's History essay. 


	20. Too Much Work

20. Too Much Work  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco wrote Zabini's History essay for him, but all the time he was thinking about how to handle this situation. Draco couldn't let it go on. In the old days, Draco would have had Crabbe and Goyle beat Zabini up. Of course, in the old days, this never would have happened.  
  
But now Crabbe and Goyle were on Zabini's side. Maybe there was another way. Draco wished he could talk to Ron about it, but he didn't want Ron to get involved with his problems. A Malfoy takes care of his own problems.  
  
But thinking of the redhead gave Draco an idea. When Ron had thought (by mistake) that Draco was going to tell everyone about their kiss, he tried to keep Draco's mouth shut by saying he'd tell everyone Draco's secret of being poor. And that would have worked, if the situation had been like Ron thought it was.  
  
So all Draco needed to do was to find out a terrible secret about Zabini. But that would be hard and would take time. Meanwhile, he'd just have to do Zabini's homework and keep his head down. So long as Zabini didn't find out about Ron.  
  
Draco was going to see Ron Monday night at 9 PM and he couldn't wait until then. No matter his problems, Ron always made him feel like the happiest person in the world.  
  
Draco made it through classes the next day, including Potions class where he and Ron sat on aisle seats and exchanged glances now and then. Hopefully not enough to make anyone notice, though. That day Draco got 98% in his potion. He lost two points because his Owl Tonic potion was mint green instead of lime green.  
  
After supper, Draco went to the library to do his homework. Ron was at Quidditch practice so they weren't meeting until 9. Draco hoped that in the library, he could avoid Zabini.  
  
But unfortunately, Zabini found him there and came up to him, with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. "You do such good work, Malfoy," Zabini said. "I think I'll give you some more to do." He handed a list of homework to Draco. "That's all due tomorrow, so be sure I have it at breakfast."  
  
The list was long, too much work to get done before 9 PM. "I can't get all that done in one night," Draco said.  
  
"Too bad," Zabini said. "If I *afford* a tutor, I wouldn't need you to do this for me. So get it done or else."  
  
Zabini turned and walked away. Crabbe and Goyle followed him, but Draco thought that they looked a little strange.  
  
This was awful! Draco had to make a decision about doing the homework. He would have to either skip seeing Ron or stay up all night to get it done. Plus that left him no time for trying to find out Zabini's secrets.  
  
Draco was very depressed. He knew he'd have to go see Ron. He'd just have to stay up all night afterwards.  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron had a good day. He felt very good now that he had told Harry and Hermione about his being gay. They didn't really talk about it after that first conversation, but Ron had less secrets to hide now so that was a relief.  
  
Ron was looking forward to seeing Draco that night. In Potions class, Draco looked so hot that Ron had to stop himself from staring during the whole classtime.  
  
Quidditch practice was really good. Ron saved almost every goal that was shot at him. Plus Harry told him that his flying was really improving. Their first match was coming up soon and Ron knew he'd be ready. They weren't playing Slytherin yet, but Ron wondered what it would be like to play on the opposite team from Draco now that they were going out.  
  
After a shower, Ron went to the special study room to meet Draco. He was the first one there so he stretched out on the couch. He was pretty tired out by Quidditch practice and before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep.  
  
Ron woke up when he felt a light touch on his lips. He opened his eyes to see that he was gazing into Draco's dove-grey eyes. He smiled at Draco and gave him a real kiss.  
  
"You looked so peaceful sleeping, I didn't want to wake you," the blonde said.  
  
Ron moved over so that Draco could lie down too. They kissed a little, but it was more calm than passionate, like it was becoming an expression of their true feelings for each other.  
  
"How long was I asleep," Ron wanted to know.  
  
"I woke you up at 9:30," Draco said.  
  
"You shouldn't have let me sleep," the Gryffindor said. "I never get to see you enough."  
  
"Well, I was a little late, so it was probably good you were asleep," Draco said. "And I'm sorry, Ron, but I have to leave early, probably in about half an hour."  
  
Ron was really disappointed to hear that. "Why do you have to go so soon?"  
  
"I have a lot of extra work to do," Draco said with a worried frown.  
  
Ron immediately wondered if something was wrong. "Where did the extra work come from?" he asked.  
  
"Just some extra assignments," Draco said. "Did you want to spend all our time talking? I could tell you all about the Unicorn Hunts of 1576 if you want."  
  
Ron laughed at that. Probably Draco was just ticked off that he had all that work to do. Ron kissed the Slytherin hard on the mouth and they made out on the couch until Draco had to go.  
  
When Draco left, Ron sat on the couch a while longer, thinking. He was sad that Draco was gone. He looked forward all the time until they could be together. And now he thought about the tender kisses that they had shared at the beginning of their time together. Ron felt like his heart had been poured out in those kisses and that Draco had taken it away with him.  
  
Ron realised something really important, so important that it made him jump right up to his feet. He was in love with Draco. 


	21. Harry's Surprise

Here's a special interlude from a different character! I hope it fits in the story OK. Thanks to all my reviewers!  
  
~*~  
  
21. Harry's Surprise  
  
-Harry-  
  
Ever since Ron had told him and Hermione about being gay, Harry had been thinking about that. It made him a little uncomfortable, but he tried not to show that. Because Ron was still his friend, no matter what. But Harry couldn't help being just a little bit freaked out that he knew someone who was gay.  
  
Hermione told Harry that one out of every ten Hogwarts students and teachers could be gay. That made Harry even more uncomfortable. He kept looking at everyone he saw and wondering if they were gay.  
  
Harry didn't like feeling like this. In fact, he felt guilty about it. He hoped that the uncomfortable feelings would go away soon and things would be back to normal.  
  
Ron had seemed much more relaxed since he'd told his secret. But Harry couldn't help but think that Ron still had another secret. He said that he didn't have a boyfriend, but Harry had noticed Ron smiling a lot for no good reason. Also, he went out almost every night, even the nights he didn't have prefect patrol.  
  
So Harry suspected that Ron actually did have a boyfriend. Harry wondered who it was. Everytime Ron talked to another boy, Harry stared at them and tried to work out if this was Ron's boyfriend. Sometimes Ron sat with Neville in class. Maybe Neville was his boyfriend.  
  
But Harry knew that Ron sat with Neville because Harry was always sitting with Hermione now. And anyhow, Harry was pretty sure that Neville and Seamus and Dean were usually in the common room when Ron was out.  
  
So it was probably someone from another house. Harry didn't know how he was going to figure it out just from watching Ron, though. He asked Hermione about it.  
  
"Ron said that he doesn't have a boyfriend," she said to Harry.  
  
"But maybe he's keeping it secret!" Harry said. "What about that?"  
  
"If he wants to have a secret boyfriend, then you should let him," Hermione said. "Personally, I think we should be looking for someone nice to fix him up with. We could all go on a date together on Saturday."  
  
Harry didn't try to argue about it with Hermione since she had a habit of winning all arguments. But he really wanted to know Ron's secret.  
  
So, Harry figured that the only way he would know is if he spied on Ron. It was Monday night and he thought that Ron might go out after Quidditch practice. Hermione had prefect patrol that night, so Harry wouldn't get caught by her.  
  
Harry brought his invisibility cloak to Quidditch practice and hid it in a locker. Afterwards, he showered really fast and then hid under the cloak. He followed Ron out and back into the castle. Ron went to a deserted hallway and into a room there. Harry knew he couldn't risk going in too, or he might get caught when the door opened and no one was there. So he waited in the hallway.  
  
After about half an hour, he saw Draco Malfoy running along the hallway. Harry thought it would be fun to trip Draco as he went past. But then Draco stopped and went into the room.  
  
Harry was immediately on his guard. Draco must be there to menace Ron or to mess things up with his boyfriend. He kept alert in case there were sounds of a struggle inside the room.  
  
But there didn't seem to be any problem. He went over and listened at the door. He could hear murmuring voices sometimes and nothing other times, but no yelling. Harry began to get a sick feeling in his stomach.  
  
After another half an hour, the door started to open and Harry jumped back just in time. It was Draco coming out again. He had a sort of sleepy look and he was sort of flushed. He was smiling.  
  
Then a few minutes after, Ron came out of the room too. He was smiling even more. He even whistled as he walked down the hall.  
  
This was the worst thing that Harry could imagine! Ron's secret boyfriend was Draco Malfoy!  
  
Harry felt really angry. This was obviously some trick of Draco's to hurt Ron. He felt like running after Draco and hexing him or beating him up, but Draco was probably too far away for that.  
  
But Harry knew that he had to protect Ron. Draco was not a good boyfriend for anybody, let alone Harry's best friend. Let Draco snog with Crabbe and Goyle instead.  
  
Then Harry realised that he hadn't seen Crabbe and Goyle with Draco recently. They had been with Zabini instead. That could make dealing with Draco a lot easier.  
  
Harry took off his cloak and started to think of a plan. 


	22. A Gift And A Plan

I'm sorry this took so long! I was really busy and I had to work out the next few chapters. Hopefully I'll have more up soon now that I've got them planned.  
  
~*~  
  
22. A Gift And A Plan  
  
-Ron-  
  
Ron felt like he was on top of the world these days. He was doing OK in school, his Quidditch was really good, and best of all, he had a fantastic boyfriend. A boyfriend who he was now in love with.  
  
Being in love was good but Ron also found it kind of scary. It made his stomach fluttery. Also, he was sort of worried -- what if he loved Draco but Draco didn't love him back?  
  
Ron was split between two impulses -- one was to tell the Slytherin that he loved him. The other was not to say anything for now. That seemed like a better idea. He didn't want Draco to freak out and leave him or anything. But Ron knew he'd have to be careful not to just blurt it out when he was with Draco.  
  
So that was Ron's decision for now. But he still wanted to do something for Draco, something that would show his feelings, but not in such a blunt way. Ron thought that he could get Draco a gift.  
  
Ron didn't have a lot of money, but he had some. He didn't want to wait until they had a Hogsmeade day, so he looked in a catalog from Owl Order Gifts. They promised delivery within 4 hours on a regular business day.  
  
He leafed through the pages but nothing really seemed right. He didn't want to get Draco a stuffed toy or a self-stirring teaspoon or a badge with Best Boyfriend Ever on it. Most of the gifts were either really tacky or too expensive. Then Ron turned the page and there it was -- a thin silver ring that looked like a snake eating its own tail.  
  
It was perfect for Draco. Ron thought how nice it would look on Draco's pale hand. It was the same silver as Draco's eyes. But it cost 3 Galleons and Ron only had 4 Galleons for the whole semester.  
  
Ron thought for five minutes and then decided that he didn't care about the money. He wanted to get a special present for Draco and that's what he was going to do. He would just go without treats for himself. He sent off the order in time so that he'd receive it at suppertime.  
  
He would give it to Draco that night when they went to their room after patrol. Ron couldn't wait to see Draco. He had also been thinking about going further with Draco. They had really only been mostly kissing so far and Ron thought that it was time for more.  
  
Ron could hardly wait to see Draco.  
  
-Draco-  
  
Draco could hardly keep his eyes open. He'd had to stay up until 3 AM working on Zabini's homework. He was worried that he hadn't done a very good job. Not that he cared about Zabini's grades, but he didn't want the other boy to get angry at him, not until Draco had figured out a way out of this mess.  
  
Whenever Draco thought about Zabini, his hands clenched into fists and his stomach started hurting, he got so mad. Zabini was keeping Draco from seeing Ron very much, since Draco didn't have much free time now, and that made Draco madder than ever. He was trying to devise a plan to get Zabini, but it was hard when he was so tired he couldn't think.   
  
Draco drank three cups of coffee at breakfast and that helped him to stay awake in his classes. He didn't really pay attention, though, since he was still pondering the Zabini problem.  
  
He started to make some notes about it. He either had to find out a secret about Zabini, trick Zabini into doing something terrible so that Draco could hold that over his head, or make him too afraid to tell.  
  
If Draco could get hold of some Veritaserum, then he could give it to Zabini and ask him about his secrets that way. Maybe he'd be able to sneak some out of Snape's office.  
  
Or Draco could make it look like Zabini had some really terrible personal habits, like he shagged sheep or something. It would be hard to get a sheep into the dormitory. But maybe he could work something with Flobberworms.  
  
If this were the old days, Draco would just get Crabbe and Goyle to beat up Zabini. That would be the most efficient solution. The only flaw was that Crabbe and Goyle were Zabini's henchmen now so that was right out.  
  
Draco decided that the Veritaserum was the best idea. Now he just had to work out the sub-plan of getting into Snape's office to look for it. Only the coffee had pretty much worn off by then, so he decided to work on that bit the next day.  
  
At supper, Draco had more coffee so that he could stay awake for patrol. At least he'd get to see Ron soon. He looked over to the Gryffindor table and gave Ron a slight smile. Ron smiled back a little, hardly at all, but his eyes stared into Draco's like two blue beams of light and Draco knew that Ron couldn't wait either.  
  
After supper, Draco rushed to get his homework done. He finished just in time for patrol. Then, just as he was getting ready to leave, Zabini came up to him with more assignments for Draco to do.  
  
Draco almost punched Zabini right in the face, but instead he just took the list and glared once before he left. The list was long again -- homework for three classes, including an essay that was 12 inches long.  
  
"Fuck!" Draco said as soon as he was out of the common room. He was going to have to skip staying with Ron after patrol. He hoped that Ron wouldn't be mad at him.  
  
Patrolling with Ron was lots of fun. They laughed and joked as they walked through the hallways. Sometimes they'd give each other a gentle push, as though they were having a mock fight. Ron was in a really good mood, Draco noticed. The redhead was laughing a lot and teasing Draco with a smile.  
  
Draco looked at Ron and wanted to push him up against the wall right there and kiss him until they had both melted together. He thought about how Ron's lips felt when they were pressed against Draco's and how Ron's strong arms would wrap around him. Draco almost decided to throw away Zabini's homework list, but he knew he would regret that.  
  
After they were done the patrol, Ron started to walk to their special room. But Draco stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Ron," he said, "I'm really sorry, but I can't stay tonight. I have too much homework to do."  
  
Ron looked crushed. Draco immediately felt terrible. "I'm really sorry," he said again. He hoped Ron would believe that.  
  
The Gryffindor sighed. Then he took Draco's hand, after looking around to make sure no one else was in the hall. "OK, but can we talk for five minutes?"  
  
Draco nodded and squeezed Ron's hand. He wondered what Ron wanted to talk about.  
  
Ron got slightly pink. He pulled something out of his pocket. "I ... I got a present for you." He put a small box into Draco's hand. "It's just a little thing but it reminded me of you."  
  
Draco felt a rush of happiness when he heard this. He knew that Ron liked to be with him and make out with him, but this seemed to mean that Ron really liked Draco a lot. Draco opened the box and found a thin silver ring of a snake that was eating its tail.  
  
"Of course, if you don't like it you don't have to keep it," Ron said and turned even redder.  
  
Draco took the ring out of the box. It was pretty and it shone in the light. "I love it," he said to Ron. He put it on his finger and it tightened to fit. "Thank you so much, Ron."  
  
The hall was still empty so Draco leaned in and gave Ron a sweet kiss. Afterwards, they both had big grins on their faces. It took all of Draco's willpower to leave and go back to the common room. He kept looking back and Ron while he went and Ron kept looking back at him.  
  
While Draco was doing Zabini's homework, he kept looking at the ring on his hand and smiling. Things could never seem completely bad when he had such an amazing boyfriend as Ron. 


End file.
